Julian Schnabel, a painter by trade, comes at his films (all bio-pics) with passion and élan. That worked in The Diving Bell and the Butterfly, but not here, where the subject — the Israeli-Palestinian conflict in the Middle East — is messy, complex, and vast. Schnabel wants to create an epic that analyzes the existence of the Jewish state. He also wants to tell a tale of female empowerment, so he cuts the film into titled chapters about four strong Palestinian women. Only two, however, resonate: Hind (Hiam Abbass), a real-life Mother Teresa who founds a school for girls orphaned by the struggle, and Miral (Freida Pinto from Slumdog Millionaire), a student of Hind's who gets mixed up with a PLO operative. Schnabel, a Jew, takes a Palestinian slant (the only Israelis depicted are Gestapo-like soldiers), and the push for a resolution is spot-on, but the didactic approach and hodge-podge structure diminish the film's heart and Schnabel's dreamy imagery.

HOLLYWOOD, RI-STYLE | July 30, 2014 The 2014 edition will premiere more than 240 films (features, shorts and documentaries) from 62 countries and 34 US states.

GLOBAL CINEMA, LOCAL FLAVOR | August 08, 2013 The 17th annual incarnation of the Rhode Island International Film Festival begins its weeklong run on August 6. The festival, which boasts more than 200 films from 65 countries, is a celebration of the cinematic arts with a campus feel and a focus on all things Rhode Island.

REVIEW: SAFE HAVEN | February 14, 2013 Somewhere along the way Nicholas Sparks went from being just a bestselling author of preachy schmaltz to a full-on franchise (he produces the movies of his books).